Fireplace
by captainswanouat
Summary: When the heat in her apartment breaks, Emma gets to introduce Killian to another one of our world's fantastic inventions; a fireplace.


Emma hurried into her apartment, escaping the brisk cold air that the fall season had brought to Storybrooke. As much as she had complained about the heat in the summer, she would have killed in that very moment to have it back. It was too cold outside for her liking, and the layers of coats she was bundled in were proof of that. She felt her body shiver as she closed the front door, beginning to pull of the numerous layers off her shoulders. But the more layers she lost, the more the cold air of the apartment fell like a blanket over her and suddenly she was very aware she was just as cold as she was a moment ago outside as she was within the confines of her apartment.

_Great. The heat must be broken again._

She let out a quiet groan as she pulled a sweatshirt off the coat rack and slipped it over her head, rubbing her arms furiously as she contemplated what to do. As she was about to turn on her heels towards the living room, a very disgruntled Killian appeared in her line of vision, making her stop and hold back a laugh when she took in his appearance.

He walked slowly out of her bedroom, one of the blankets from her bed wrapped tightly around his shoulders, falling just above his ankles. Emma gave him an inquiring looking and all he did was narrow his eyes at her, pulling the blanket tighter around him. "Why the bloody hell is it so cold in here?"

"The heat is broken. I'll have to call them tomorrow to come in and fix it."

"Tomorrow?" he nearly shrieked, causing Emma to chuckle at his dramatics. It wasn't _that_ cold.

"Yes, tomorrow. You'll be fine."

Killian shuffled towards her, the blanket fanning out behind him as he walked, and Emma bit her lip to keep from outright laughing at how _ridiculous_ but _adorable _he looked all wrapped up in her fluffy yellow blue blanket. It was really unfair. "I could have caught my death I'll have you know," he mumbled as he walked by her, making a beeline for the couch.

"You're fine, stop being such a drama queen. Don't act like it was never cold in the Enchanted Forest. I know it snows there."

"Aye, lass but that's outside, not inside."

Emma rolled her eyes as he plopped down on the love seat in front of the TV, the blanket still draped over his shoulders. "Here, I'll show you something that will help warm the place up."

"And what might that be, a candle?" he deadpanned, causing her to send a glare in his direction.

"You're not far off, smartass. I'm going to turn on the fireplace."

"You're going to start a fire in here?" he questioned, concern and surprise apparent in his voice. The last time he had suggested building a fire to cook a meal _(and nearly attempted it) _Emma had been quick to stop him, telling him he wasn't allowed near the matches anymore; mainly because she didn't trust him _not_ to burn her apartment down.

"No," she drawled out as she made her way to the glass encased nook, which was surrounded by a brick border, to the left of the couch. "I'm going to turn on the _fireplace_." With a quick flick of the little white switch the fireplace came to life, the embers growing faintly as it began to heat up. She smiled proudly as she turned towards him, biting the inside of her mouth as she saw him gaping at her.

"How the bloody hell did you do that?"

"Do you remember when I explained how electricity works? Like how we turn on all the lights in here?" he nodded, raising an eyebrow. "Well… that's sorta how this works too. But instead of creating light, it creates a fire. A_ contained_ fire, that's not going to burn down the place. It's really hard to explain, honestly but… that's basically it. I just flip this on and… fire." She sucked at explaining things to him. And by the look on his face he was definitely still confused; it wasn't her fault that she suddenly had a curiously obnoxious pirate asking her day in and day out how every single appliance in her apartment worked. But to her surprise slowly began nodding, glancing back at the fire.

"And how exactly does it not burn down your apartment, lass?"

Emma sighed and gave him a tight lipped smile, moving back to the couch and sitting next to him. "If we're being honest, I really don't know the specifics of how it works."

"What if I get burned?"

She groaned in slight frustration, tilting her head backwards. "Killian, you're not going to get burned unless you _touch_ it. Stay away from the glass too, that tends to get hot. Seriously, as long as you use your brain you're not going to die."

To her surprise, Killian suddenly shrugged the blanket off and stood up before he stalked towards the burning flames. Emma reached out to stop him, scared he might make a dumb decision and, in return, hurt himself but she pulled back when she saw him stalking in the direction of the switch.

"Killian..."

He waved her off and cocked his head while flicking the switch towards the ceiling. And as quickly as the embers had come to life, they were suddenly put out. He leaned back, a look of confusion twisting on his face before he flipped the light switch again. Up, down, up, down, he continued to turn the fireplace on and off like a 5 year old trying to create a light show in a room.

"Okay Killian, you can stop now I think you get that the switch turns it on."

"Why do I feel like it's just you doing magic but you refuse to tell me?"

Emma's eyebrows shot up before she rolled her eyes again, crossing over to him and and standing to his right. "It's not magic, I promise. Would it matter if it was though? Would you be… weirded out by that?"

"Course not," he said quickly. "I think it's bloody brilliant that, in theory, you would be able to do what that small switch does with just the flick of your wrist. There will never come a time I'm not impressed by you, love."

Emma felt her cheeks flush red briefly as she patted him on the shoulder, tilting her head towards the fire. "Okay lover boy, come over here. And grab the blanket."

Killian smirked to himself as he picked up the blanket off the couch and wandered back over to her, mesmerized by her movements as she sat down and leaned against the side of the couch. Emma glanced up at him and motioned to the space next to her; he happily took the invitation and nestled himself in it. Emma spread the blanket over the lower half of their legs and curled herself into his side, wrapping her arms around his torso. She smiled when his hand fell on the curve of her hip, his thumb light brushing over the material of the sweatshirt and sending a tingling feeling down her spine. Although his questions tended to infuriate her to no end, she enjoyed the little moments like this; wrapped up in each other's arms with only the sound of the crackling fire filling the space.

Not to mention it instantly heated up her cold body.

"So… I have to spend all day tomorrow trapped here in the cold, aye?" Killian asked while leaning his head down to rest on hers.

"I guess you could always come to the station with me tomorrow if you want."

"Is that such a good idea, lass?"

Emma felt her lips involuntarily curl into a smile, turning to bury her head against his chest. "Only if you behave."

He chuckled and ghosted his lips across the top of her head, pulling her closer to him. He relished in the warmth that was instantly created as he did and loved the way her body molded perfectly around his. "I can't make any promises."

A few more moments of silence fell over them and Emma glanced up to find Killian already staring down at her, a loving look passing behind his eyes. "Getting warmed up?"

"Aye, that I am love. I do enjoy this fireplace of yours, however hazardous it appears." Emma gave him a smile before standing to her feet and tossing the blanket over the arm chair of the couch. Killian's lips parted in confusion but before he could question her, she extended her hand down to him, a smirk toying on her lips. "What are you doing?"

"Come with me. I think there's another way we could warm up faster." Jerking her hand back, Emma stepped over him and began walking back to the bedroom, only looking over her shoulder as she reached the door, beckoning him with the curl of her index finger, before she slipped past the doorway. Killian chuckled to himself and quickly stood to his feet to follow her, realization setting in that _maybe _the cold wouldn't be as bad as he originally thought.


End file.
